What a Moment

I was all set to blip a bug today - after spending the entire morning out with my naturalist group chasing dragons, robbers, butterflies and other intriguing insects, it seemed like a sure bet.  I decided, however, to sit on the deck for a bit first...

And I was thrilled when Madame and Monsieur Bleu both showed up, inspecting the box in the garden, singing, and generally being beautiful.  And just as I was saying to Hubs that I wondered where the babies were... two flew down, demanding to be fed.  I captured a bunch of shots of the parents feeding them and picked this as my favorite.  Relative to the finches, who tend to clamour all over each other to be fed, the baby bluebirds are quite well-behaved.  I did not see the other three, so am not sure if they've survived.  I'm hoping maybe they were just hiding up in the trees, but the reality is that baby birds have a very high mortality rate in their first few weeks in the world.  

In other baby news, I caught a glimpse of three brown thrashers in the pine trees, so I know they've fledged - this was the first time we've ever had this species nest here, so I'm glad they were successful.  Also, baby Downy Woodpeckers are in the pine trees, pic-pic-piccing incessantly as their parents fly back and forth with suet and seeds.  Freaking adorable.  Also several baby cardinals around.  This is such a special time of year.  

I have posted one other shot of Monsieur with the fledglings on Flickr Starting HERE with five shots of various dragons, robbers and butterflies following.  

Now, I'm off to sit on the deck and see what else happens out back!

Debbi